Stillwater City Council removes 'new business' as agenda item

Stillwater City Council agendas will no longer include the item "new business," under an ordinance that councilors unanimously approved Monday.

The decision reportedly was to stop residents from addressing the council on issues not listed on the agenda.

It's not clear why such a change was needed because the term "new business" has a statutory definition that doesn't include public comment.

The state Open Meeting Act defines "new business" as “any matter not known about or which could not have been reasonably foreseen prior to the time of posting.” (OKLA. STAT. tit. 25, § 311(A)(9))

Council members had expressed concern that "new business" had become a catch-all for speaking time on any subject, the Stillwater NewsPress reported.

But the statutory definition doesn't seem to give the public any right to speak at a council meeting because a 1999 attorney general opinion said audience members do not have a right under the Open Meeting Act or the First Amendment to speak on issues as part of a public meeting. (1998 OK AG 45. See also 2002 OK AG 44, ¶ 3)

The statute “nowhere provides for or guarantees citizens a right to participate in the governmental decisions being made at an open meeting,” state Attorney General Drew Edmondson said.

“The Act is designed to enable citizens to be present and view the workings of government at open meetings, but does not require that citizens become participants at an open meeting or that they have a right to be heard at an open meeting,” he said. (1998 OK AG 45, ¶ 2)

Stillwater City Attorney John Dorman said that in 20 years on the job, he had seen the statutory definition of "new business" met only once.

That's good. Because if news reports about the new ordinance are correct, the council won't be able address or decide any public business that legitimately arises in the 24 hours after the agenda is posted.

I'm relying on the media reports because the council agenda gave only this explanation:

Ordinance No. 3110: An ordinance amending Chapter 2, Administration, Article II, City Commission, Division 1, Generally, of the Stillwater City Code, to amend Section 2-20, Order of the Business and Section 2-25, Public Addressing the Commission, declaring an emergency.

But agendas should be worded in “plain language, directly stating the purpose of the meeting, in order to give the public actual notice. The language used should be simple, direct and comprehensible to a person of ordinary education and intelligence,” the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has said.

The purpose of the Open Meeting Act “to encourage and facilitate an informed citizenry’s understanding of the governmental processes and governmental problems . . . is defeated if the required notice is deceptively worded or materially obscures the stated purpose of the meeting,” the court said. (Haworth Bd. of Ed. of Independent School Dist. No. I-6, McCurtain County v. Havens, 1981 OK CIV APP 56, ¶ 8)

In the spirit of open government, the Stillwater City Council should explain to voters in plain language what it's doing rather than relying only legalize in agenda items.

For other coverage of the council's decision: Council removes option to speak, Kenneth Higgs, The Daily O'Collegian, 9.21.10

Joey Senat, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications

FOI Oklahoma Inc. seeks nominees for the Justice Marian Opala First Amendment Award

FOI Oklahoma Inc. is seeking nominees through Oct. 16 for the Justice Marian Opala First Amendment Award.

The award recognizes an Oklahoman who has promoted education about or protection of the individual rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, which include freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Previous recipients include civil rights leader Clara Luper and state Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

Nominations for the award should include the nominee's name, address, brief biographical information and what the person has done to promote education about or protection of the individual rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Nominations may be sent to FOI Oklahoma Inc., P.O. Box 2408, Edmond, OK 73083, or e-mailed to kaybickham@sbcglobal.net.

This year’s recipient will be honored Oct. 29 during the 11th annual First Amendment Congress Professional Day session at The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City.

The award was initiated in 2002 to honor Justice Marian Opala, a Polish immigrant who exemplifies a belief in the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment. Opala was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 1978 and served as chief justice in 1991-92.

Opala, born in 1921, had just enrolled in law school when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. He enlisted in the Polish Army and later fought as a member of the Polish Resistance Movement. He was captured in 1944 and held in a concentration camp in Bavaria. When the camp was liberated in 1945, Opala was befriended by a 45th Infantry Division captain from Oklahoma City. Opala settled in Oklahoma City in 1947 and became a U.S. citizen in 1953.

Opala is well-known as a strong advocate of First Amendment rights. He attributes that commitment to his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland.

FOI Oklahoma is a statewide organization founded in 1990 to educate the public and officials about rights guaranteed by the First Amendment and to actively support openness in government.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism

Oklahomans don't know their First Amendment rights

No, the First Amendment doesn't grant the right to own a pet or drive a car. Property rights and the right to bear arms aren't in it either.

Oklahomans' ignorance of their fundamental federal rights is demonstrated on a video shot by my team of OIDJ students in the past week. The print story discusses the disappearance of civics education in schools.

We didn't have time to include video of the students' other questions, which included:

Who are Oklahoma's two US senators? (Tom Coburn's gotta work on his name recognition. Surprising.)

Which Oklahoma court hears appeals of criminal convictions? (No one knew about the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Not surprising. But still disappointing.)

How many justices are on the Oklahoma Supreme Court? (Most either didn't know or said eight. Some guessed to get the correct number of nine.)

Makes for an interesting story.


Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Journalism
joey.senat@okstate.edu